US STOCKS-Futures rebound after Wall Street's steep decline; Caterpillar up on results

Reuters Staff

3 Min Read

* Caterpillar shares up after reporting better-than-expected results

* Apple Inc earnings due after market close

* Home sales data on tap

* Futures up: Dow 9 pts, S&P 60 pts, Nasdaq 11 pts

By Angela Moon

NEW YORK, Jan 27 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures inched higher on Monday, setting Wall Street up for a modest rebound after its worst week since June 2012 with investors focused on corporate earnings from big names like Caterpillar and Apple.

* Apple Inc is due to report earnings after the bell on Wednesday. The iPhone and iPad maker may notch its most successful holiday shopping season yet, setting records for sales of its gift-friendly iPhones and iPads. It will, however, continue to draw investor scrutiny over sales in ultra-competitive China, its No. 2 market but a drag on revenue and margins in recent quarters.

* In economic news, the Commerce Department's new homes sales numbers for December are due at 10:00 a.m. ET. The Dallas Fed's manufacturing survey data is due at 10:30 a.m. ET.

* Investors will begin to heavily consider the outcome of the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting that begins on Tuesday.

* Concerns that the Fed may further taper its stimulus measures have been one of the major reasons for a recent selloff in the stock market. On Friday, the S&P 500 fell 2.6 percent for the week, closing below its 50-day moving average for the first time since Oct. 9, suggesting more selling may be ahead for the market that closed out 2013 with a 30-percent gain.

* U.S. mobile group AT&T has ruled out a bid for Britain's Vodafone for now, with banking sources saying a U.S. spying scandal and a surge in European telecom shares may have disrupted a deal that many think could still happen. U.S.-listed shares of Vodafone fell 4.7 percent in premarket trade.

* Google Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd , which are frequently involved in patent infringement lawsuits but not against each other, announced on Sunday that they have reached a global patent cross-licensing agreement. Google shares were little changed in premarket trade.